Mattress tufting



n raast-.es Nev. se, reas. v

vEnsim-ir EOELLA, on EocKEoEn, AssIGNoE To 'RccEEoRn MANUFACTUR- 'rne COMPANY, 0E EocEEoEn, TENNESSEE, A coEPoEArIoE or rEimEssEE.

l l MATTRESS murrine.

Application niet June 3o, 1925,.` serial Ng. 40,599,

This invention relates to an i elongated, soft fiber structurefand to thernethod of forming and applying sections of said structure to bed mattresses, said structure being.

5 adapted to be cut into sections to form tufts for trying bed mattresses, lsuch, trying being done by looping threads transversely through Y themattress and placing tufts into the thread loops to prevent'. the thread from* being 10 drawn back through the mattress.l UThe use of tufts is old `in the'mattressnialring art.

`This invention relates tothe 'manner of 'pro-Q to `be attached and the'` structurethereV cut i transversely into vsections Vof desired length to constitute tufts. M c A Tufting machines now in use operate by d feeding U,tufting materialV through a 'tubesl into the thread loop on the mattress and then cutting the material to make a mass or bunch of theL material of the desired length Vto constitue a tuft.

By means vof my improvement, the tuftingstructure is of"cylindri-cal cross section and comprises an `inner body of cotton yarn strands arranged parallel to Veach other and other cotton yarn strands surrounding said body and braided in sufficient number to' give said structure sutlicient `coherence for convenient packing and shipping and other.

Y handling andfor feeding through such a machine, the braiding being open or loose as ,andfor thevpurpose hereinafter described. Y

In the accompanying drawings, 40

structure embodying my'invention, Va Vpart of the braiding beingomltted;

Fig. 2 1s a transverse section on the line,

v2 2, of Fig. l, looking in the direction of;

the arrows;l

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of apiece of the'tufting structure cut to the lengthfor a tuft and resting on a piece of the mattress vand in'atrying thread loop;

Fig. 4 shows the parts of Fig. Siwith the thread loopdrawn downward far enough Y to indicate the positions which the ends of the strandsof the tuft will take when' the' trying has been completed, Referringftov said drawings, A are a Fig. l is a sideelevation of a tufting group of cottonstrands placed parallel and against each other, and preferably'twisted, tofform acylindrical'body or core. "The body of strands is surrounded and lheld in v p'ovsition'byy similar orlilre strands, 3,15, extending'lengthwise.` of the strlicture Vand braided.'V

" Thisstructureis `formed by the aid of anyV braiding machine whichv is adapted to carry forward theparallel strands, A, A, and braid vthe 'strands,B, B, around the strands,A.wA.

(ifi

y important feature of the structure 'y yconsists in,l braiding loosely around the Y strands, A, A.v Thebraidmg strands are not `drawn tightly around thefbody ofstrands,

'A, A, and. the braiding strands are not placedcloselytagainstv each other as is the caselin other-tubularbraiding. In other words, this:A braiding is 1 loosejand of open or, relatively "large mesh', nits preferred form thlSlOfllClllglscjomposedof only a sufficient number of Astra'nds placed only near enough `to 'each other and drawnonly sufficientl to the core of strands, A, A, to give the ished structure such coherence or stability asis desirable for convenient-pa'clring and other handling and for feeding through the tuftingk machinel into tying `thread loops, 0,011 the mattress. This procedure is for the purpose of rendering the-finished tufts soft and iluffy when ap.- plied to the mattress.` The! innerer body strands, A, A, merely lyingagainst each other,rare free t'o spread and bend and pre sent 'theirl ends outward when the tying thread is drawn. At the Vsame time the'v braiding strands', B, in the tuft are so short asto permit the ready automatic separation from their ends to or toward the vtying thread whenk the tying thread,- is drarwn,

whereby the braiding is entirely or substantially. undone and the braiding strands, B,j

take' positions substantiallyY parallel to the, body strands, A, and present their endsl in the same manner toform a fluffy outer sur-g face above the tying loop, C.

Heretofore -tufting has ybeenmade byV distances, the tufting-being afterwardl cut midway between such transverse tying.V In some cases this tying has been done with ordinary thread. ,In other cases, the strands have been sewed together, midway between their ends, by Asewing machine stitching. As another means, the strands have been bound .Ying parallel strands transversely at chosen together by means ot .a metal band surrounding the group of strands midway' betweenv their ends. This tying or stitching or binding left the ends of the strands free to spread when the tultwas placed into the mattress loop and said loop drawn.

In my tutting structure there is no transverse tying or sewing or banding; but the structure is composed entirely of strands, a part of the strands beging braided around the others to make coherence,-the braiding beingl so loose as to leave `the braiding strands substantially free in the finished tutt, I

By omitting the transverse tying or stitching 0r binding, necessity ot transversely cutting the tutting structure at precise points is avoided. This makes precise feeding by the machine Ato the mattress thread loops unnecessary. Y K Y Y Furthermore, the tact that 4the structure sott adapts it to feeding through the feed# ingtube ot the tutting machine. Since the structure is sott, compression Iin the tube is Vpermitted and that aids in makingrsuch .yielding engagement in the tubing' as will nfacilitate feeding.

The tying thread; C, extends throughthe mattresscover, D, and the mattress filling,

E, in the usual manner,Y and the drawingy of said threadf makes a ydepression in the surface ofthe mattress around the thread, and the tutt is seated in that depression.

Y tially as described.

lf claim as my invention,

l. fr rope-form tutting structure comprising a body of sott liber strands parallel to each other and other sott fiber strands braided loosely around said body, substan-v 2. A rope-form tutt-ing structure comprising .a body of soft fiber strands parallel to and twisted oneach other and other sott liber strands braided loosely around said body, substantially as described.

3.y The herein-described method ot mal:w ing a rope-form tufting. str cture, which method consists in forming` a body by placingsoft liber strands parallelpto each other p and braiding other soft ber strands around said body so loosely that they Will'ireet'hemselves troni each other when the structure is `out transversely into sections ot tutt length, substantially as described.

4. The herein-described method ot making a rope-form tufting structure., Whichrmethod consists in forming a body by placing .sott fiber strands parallel to and twisted on each other and braiding other sottiberstrandsV around said body lso loosely that they will tree themselves from each otherwhen the structure is cuttransversely into sections oft tutt length, substantially as described.

In testimony. whereof I' have signed my name, this Qtli'day of June, in they'ear one thousand, nine hundred and tWejntyrVe.

ERNEST nonnina.v 

